Stevie Ray Vaughan’s 1951 ‘Jimbo’ Nocaster sells for $250,000

Blues legend’s formative Fender electric guitar sold at auction

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A 1951 Fender Nocaster is a very rare thing indeed, but a Stevie Ray Vaughan-owned Nocaster is something else, and this particular guitar - affectionately known as ‘Jimbo’ - has just sold for $250,000 at Dallas’s Heritage Auctions.

SRV began his career with the Nocaster, which was handed down to him by older brother Jimmie, who carved the ‘Jimbo’ on the rear of the guitar - Stevie later followed suit by scratching his own name on the headstock beneath the tuners.

The model’s ash body originally featured a natural finish, which was removed by Stevie in a shop class at high school, and bears the serial number 0964.

Jimbo accompanied Stevie throughout his early gigs in the late-’60s, including his playing with bands Southern Distributor, Liberation and Lincoln.

After trading the guitar for a red Epiphone in 1971, the guitar eventually wound up in a Dallas recording studio, before it featured in displays at Grammy Museums between 2010 and 2015; it was previously up for auction in April 2016, but failed to sell.

The winning bidder - who doesn't currently wish to be identified - also secured two previously unheard live recordings, both featuring SRV playing Jimbo.